When Will Power Come Back In Rhode Island?

RHODE ISLAND — More than 33,000 Rhode Islanders lost power after a powerful nor'easter slammed the region overnight. Winds gusts peaked as high as 70 mph in parts of the state. Amid downed trees and outages, two South County school districts opted to cancel class on Thursday.

As of Thursday morning, 33,800 Rhode Island residents were in the dark, according to the Rhode Island Emergency Management Agency. The outages spanned the state, with large clusters in coastal and southern regions. By the evening, that number was down to 24,018.

Check the status of an outage using National Grid's interactive power outage map.

Nearly all outages are still marked as "crew unassigned," with an estimated restoration time of 11 p.m. on Saturday.

Across the region, 1,100 National Grid personnel have been deployed, the company said Thursday afternoon, and more crews are expected to arrive in the coming days.

"While the toughest weather is behind us, high winds with gusts of 40-60 mph persist in New England," the department said. "Remember, our crews cannot work when winds exceed 35mph."

A photo sent to Patch by Katrina Marie shows several large branches pulling down an electrical wire Shun Pike in Cranston, off of Route 116 in Coventry:

Police departments, particularly in South County, warned residents to be aware of trees down across roads. In Charlestown, police shared a photo of a massive tree that was torn down, completely blocking a street.

Overnight, the Hope Valley-Wyoming Fire District posted photos of fallen branches and sparking wires.

"Hope Valley Fire (and every other fire department in southern RI) is out in full force for trees and wires down throughout the town," the department said. "National grid is out and doing the best they can but the amount of trees down on wires is exceeding their ability to keep up. If you see cones across a road, they are there for a reason, please try a different route."

Coventry Public Works, an official National Weather Service weather station, measured 3.8 inches of rain overnight.

Overnight wind gusts far exceeded original forecasts, with speeds as high as 70 mph recorded in Westerly. In nearby Massachusetts, the Cape was hit hardest, slammed with 90 mph winds in Provincetown.

Amid the outages and damage, Chariho and Westerly School districts, both in South County, have canceled school on Thursday. The University of Rhode Island canceled classes at the Kingston campus. Two private schools, The Bradley School in Providence and Quest Montessori in Narragansett, also canceled, along with two Catholic schools: Saint Mary's Bay View and Saint Rocco School in Johnston.